(PR) The Year was 1988, the album was "Straight Outta Compton," the group was NWA and the outcome was history making. VH1's Emmy Award-winning franchise takes a look back at the album and the group that changed the face of hip hop 20 years after its release in the new VH1 Rock Doc, NWA: The World's Most Dangerous Group." The doc will premiere on VH1, Friday, October 3 at 11pm.When NWA released their "Straight Outta Compton" album in late 1988 it changed the face of hip hop forever by ushering in a new genre of music called "gangsta rap." Television and radio were afraid to touch it because the lyrics were so perverse and forbidden, the politicians were quick to attack and condemn it and the FBI wanted it banned it made history even before it became a multi-platinum selling album.
The documentary is narrated by Chris Rock, who has called NWA the most influential act of the last 30 years. VH1's Rock Doc "NWA: The World's Most Dangerous Group" tells the story of a group of childhood friends from Compton who channeled the rage of the streets through the prism of rap music and pop culture. Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella gave a powerful voice to the late-80's Compton ghetto that was on the verge of exploding, and in the process scared much of White America. Often misunderstood, NWA's raging raps about police violence, gang-land terror and drug-fueled shooting sprees gave the ultimate voice to the voiceless.
The doc features new interviews with Ice Cube, DJ Yella, Eazy-E's widow Tomica Woods-Wright, former manager Jerry Heller, Ice-T, journalist Cheo Coker, and director John Singleton. Supplemented by rarely-seen footage and interviews from the group's early days, photos, and music, the documentary will show how gangsta rap was born in late 80s Los Angeles, a city torn by drugs and violence
and how a nation grew to fear the music that emerged.
